The Do's

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1567. Today's Devo is called The Dues.

Hey there, we're the Alesssies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Good morning, everybody. Stephanie Wiena here, and we are diving into how to read our Bible. And I have been researching this topic like a crazy person because while I'm speaking to you guys about how to read our Bible, why to read our Bible, I'm also doing a connect group study on this as well. So I am living on why to read our Bible day and night. So I'm your girl when it comes to this conversation. Okay. So let's dive into our lesson today. Today is about the dues. Also, sorry, one last thing. I will take a break tomorrow and I will be giving you guys a little word of encouragement. So please come back tomorrow to listen to the devotional because I know it's going to encourage and uplift you. Okay, let's do it. So reading our Bible is very good, but the way that we read matters significantly. 2 Timothy says 3, 16 through 17, all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Amen. So reading our Bible is good, but the way that we read our Bible matters significantly. And a lot of people approach for the Bible for theological, for literary, for philosophical or devotional reasons, which is great. I am all about that. I do the exact same thing. I love to study theology. I love to study philosophy. And what better text to go to than the Bible? That is just one of the most confident uh literary pieces that you could go to. However, how I read my Bible on a daily basis, my my daily diet of scripture has to be healthy. You know, if you are obsessed with Sour Patch Kids, that's my husband. My husband loves Sour Patch Kids. It's bad. It's really bad. Pray for us, okay? Um, I've made peace with it because I'm like, listen, if you want Sour Patch Kids every single day, that's totally fine. But you gotta have only one. Literally one kid. You can't have Sour Patch kids. You have to have one little whatever it is. That's kind of creepy, but whatever. So only one. Because if you have an overconsumption of doing something the wrong way, it could be damaging to yourself. And it's the same thing with sometimes scripture. If we go in the wrong way, even if you're reading the Bible but you're reading it incorrectly, it still could be damaging to your heart, damaging to your perspective on life, damaging to your values and your beliefs. So let's dive into how we should read it. We read our Bible for number one, information to look up the original context and meaning. Basically, who is God? Who is he? What is he? That's what we need to be going into first. Number two, for formation. It's establishing our identity and our values. It's basically asking, how do I do life? How do I see people? How do I make that decision? And then number three, it's for transformation to develop spiritually beyond self-centeredness. And it's essentially asking, who am I becoming? And is it like God? Because if we're reading this Bible every single day, but we're not being transformed, the Bible says that we're like a man who sees himself in the mirror but walks away and forgets what he looks like. The whole point of this is to discover who he is. Why did he place us in this thing called life? And how is he changing me? A few more questions to ask when you're reading. What does this Bible verse reveal about God's character? What does God value? What does God love? Or what does he hate? What words are repeated? What commands are given? What stands out? And what is Jesus actually saying? I would encourage you, write down those questions and have them next to you as you read your Bible every single day. A couple of years ago, I did a study where I went into the Gospels and I investigated Jesus' words and I took a record of specific words that he repeated. In fact, when before I started reading it, I wrote down five words that I thought he was going to say over and over again. And almost all five words were wrong. I I thought that Jesus was going to talk about those five subjects a bunch of times, and he didn't. Instead, he says the word father and here, H-E-A-R, like 50 times in the Gospels, which shows me about how I should view God and what I should do. I need to view him as my father, the father whom I love, the father who loves me, his child. And I need to have my ears open to him to hear him, to be quiet, to be in the silence, and to wait on his direction for my life so I can just simply walk in obedience. Another thing that we as Christians have to do, we need to use scripture to pray over ourselves and over each other. When you are reading and you read a verse that can really help you, can really help your friend, can really help your parents. Pause, put your hand on the Bible, and just start to pray. Father, I pray for my sister. I pray for my dad. I pray for my best friend. I pray for my boss. That God, you will make them fruitful, that Lord, you will make them whole and complete, not lacking anything. Put your hand on your heart. Lord, this scripture that I just read about the plans you have for me are not to harm me and not to forsake me, but to give me a hope in a future. I pray that over myself right now, Jesus. Use scripture to pray and then send it to that person. Send it to your parents. Send it to your friends. Write it down and speak it over yourself every single day. Maybe even memorize it and practice keeping it in your spirit. Your scripture is to be used, it's to be acted upon, and it's to be walked with daily so that it can transform the deepest parts of our heart and the widest parts of our mind so that we can just become more like Him. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for giving us scripture. And God, I pray that today the verses that we read will truly transform us, that they will give, they will inform us as to who you are and what life is. God, you've given us this tool so that we will never walk alone. You've equipped us with your word, with your truth. So, Lord, we just open up our hearts and our minds and we allow it to do a transformational work in our hearts, in our souls, in our minds. And whatever your scripture is saying, God, we apply it to our lives so that we can become more like you and that we can walk in the will that you have planned for us, Jesus. And in Jesus' name we all pray. Amen.

So there you have it, your five minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now. Until tomorrow, we pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.